The present invention relates to purchasing a product from an automatic vending machine. More particularly, the present invention relates to the purchase of a product from an automatic vending machine by using a cellular telephone.
Automatic vending machines have become ubiquitous in public places offering consumers a variety of products from soft drinks to gasoline to currency. Each vending machine typically vends more than one product and sometimes at different prices. Conventional vending machines accept coins, paper currency, credit cards, or debit cards. Vending machines that accept coin or paper currency often fail to accept the coins or currency offered. Such vending machines also require that the consumer have readily available the currency required.
Vending machines that accept credit cards and debit cards are generally limited to dispensing gasoline at service stations or dispensing currency at automatic teller machines. In each circumstance, those vending machines require an online connection from the vending machine to the credit or debit card issuer to verify the availability of funds or credit before the transaction at the vending machine can be completed. The online connection to the vending machine must be secure and must be a dedicated connection that is available on demand to insure satisfactory transactions in terms of speed and reliability.
The present invention eliminates the need for currency for a vending machine and also eliminates the need for a dedicated online connection between the vending machine and the issuer of a credit card or a debit card. Instead the system and method of the present invention allows a consumer to purchase a product from an automatic vending machine by using the consumer""s cellular telephone, personal digital assistant (PDA), or similar wireless communication device as a link between the provider of the products in the vending machine and the vending machine.
The system of the present invention comprises an automatic vending machine, a cellular telephone, PDA, or similar communication device identified with the consumer, a cellular network for connecting the consumer""s cellular telephone, PDA, or similar communication device to a server that is operated by a billing agency. The automatic vending machine offers one or more products for purchase by the consumer. The automatic vending machine includes a local receiver which responds to a vend code generated by the server and communicated to the vending machine via the consumer""s telephone, PDA, or similar communication device.
In one embodiment the vending machine has a local RF receiver that receives the vend code from the consumer""s cellular telephone over a local RF link. In a second embodiment, the vending machine has local microphone receiver that receives an audible tone or tones from the consumer""s cellular telephone when the ear piece of the consumer""s cellular telephone is held adjacent to the vending machine to establish a local audible link. In a third embodiment, the vending machine has a local infrared (IR) receiver that receives the vend code from the consumer""s PDA over a local IR link. In a fourth embodiment, the vending machine has a key pad or other manual input device so that the consumer can receive the vend code as an alpha-numeric sequence orally via the cellular telephone or graphically via the PDA and manually input the vend code into the vending machine. The automatic vending machine has been programmed to dispense a particular product in response to the vend code received by the local receiver of the vending machine.
As indicated, the system also includes the consumer""s cellular telephone, PDA, or other communication device. The cellular telephone, PDA, or other communication device is capable of establishing a connection with the server via a cellular network. In one embodiment, the consumer""s cellular telephone has a local RF transmitter that allows the consumer""s cellular telephone to communicate over a short range with the RF receiver in the automatic vending machine and thus transmit the vend code to the automatic vending machine. In the second embodiment, the consumer""s cellular telephone uses its ear piece or speaker to transmit the vend code as an audible tone or tones to the microphone receiver in the vending machine. In the third embodiment, the consumer""s PDA may be equipped with an IR transmitter that transmits the vend code to the IR receiver in the vending machine over a local IR link. In the fourth embodiment, the consumer orally receives the vend code as an alpha-numeric sequence via the consumer""s cellular telephone, or the consumer graphically receives the vend code as an alpha-numeric sequence via the consumer""s PDA. In both cases, the vend code is transmitted manually by the consumer to the vending machine.
The server is operated by a billing agency. The billing agency may include the telephone company that provides the consumer""s cellular telephone service, a credit card issuer, a bank that has issued a debit card, or the provider of the selected product from the vending machine. The server is a general purpose digital computer that is capable of receiving a call from the consumer""s cellular telephone, PDA, or other personal communication device and extracting the consumer""s request for a particular product from information provided by the consumer via the cellular telephone, PDA, or other personal communication device. Once the server has determined the requested product, the server generates a vend code and produces a transaction record. The vend code is communicated to the consumer and then to the vending machine to authorize dispensing of the selected product as previously described. The transaction record includes a billing record and an inventory record. The billing record is sent to the billing agency for billing the consumer for the purchase of the product. The inventory record is sent to the product provider to facilitate restocking of the vending machine in the ordinary course.
The method of the present invention allows the consumer to purchase a product from a vending machine. When the consumer approaches the vending machine, the consumer is offered one or more products available from the vending machine. Such an offer is typically made by a display of the products along with information concerning the cost of the product and, in the case of the present invention, instructions on how to purchase the product by means of consumer""s cellular telephone, PDA, or other personal communication device.
Once the consumer has selected the product he or she desires, the consumer places a telephone call via the consumer""s cellular telephone, PDA, or other personal communication device to a telephone number indicated on the vending machine for the purchase of the particular product selected. The consumer""s telephone call is completed to a server via a telephone network. The server may be associated with the provider of the telephone service, the provider of the selected product, or a third party billing agency. The server recognizes the call as being a request for a particular product based on the number called, the input of additional dialed digits after the call is connected, or a verbal response from the consumer.
Once the server has captured the information representing the request by the consumer for a particular product in the vending machine, the server generates a vend code which is transmitted via the telephone network back to the consumer via the consumer""s cellular telephone, PDA, or other personal communication device as previously described.
In addition to generating and transmitting the vend code, the server also creates a transaction record indicating that the consumer has purchased the product requested. Transaction record includes a billing record for the consumer and an inventory record for the product provider. The billing record for the requested product is sent to a billing agency which may include the telephone company that provides the consumer""s cellular telephone service, a credit card company, a debit card from a bank, or the product provider. The billing agency bills the consumer, and if the billing agent is not the product provider, the billing agency remits the collected funds to the product provider to pay for the requested product. The inventory portion of the record transaction is sent directly to the product provider so that the product provider can have an inventory record for determining when restocking of the vending machine is required. The inventory information and the billing information may also be collected by the product provider for use in connection with market research and assessment.